Reform sees swell of support in North East finishing just 3,600 votes shy of Tories

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage at Clacton Leisure Centre in Clacton, Essex, after he was declared the winner of the Clacton constituency in the 2024 General Election. Picture date: Friday July 5, 202
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has vowed to 'build a mass national movement' in the coming years. Credit: PA

Reform UK have been encouraged by the show of support for the party in the North East after almost matching the Conservatives' vote share.

The general election brought an almost wipeout of the Tories from the political map by Labour - but second to that landslide was the volume of people who voted for Nigel Farage's outfit.

Analysis: Labour and Reform UK combine to smash Conservatives in the North East

Despite not winning any seats, Reform won 220,895 votes in the North East, compared to the Conservatives' 224,574, and came second in 18 constituencies.

Reform UK candidate for Blyth and Ashington, Mark Peart, was a healthy runner-up with 26.9% of the vote.

He described the result there as "very positive", adding: "I think it's something to build on and something to move forward with. Obviously, we didn't get the win. Don't think we expected to but it's really good."

Reform's Blyth and Ashington candidate Mark Peart was one of 18 of the party's members to outperform the Tories in the North East. Credit: ITV Tyne Tees

Mr Peart added that he believed Reform UK was offering something distinct from the Tories.

"With the Conservatives, basically the national party is done for local - it's got nothing to do with the candidates or anything like that," he continued.

"The Conservative Party isn't conservative. There's no difference between Tory and Labour now."

Elsewhere, Reform comfortably outperformed the Conservatives in:

  • Washington and Gateshead South - where they secured 29.1% of the votes,

  • Houghton & Sunderland South - where they secured 29.2% of the votes, and

  • Easington - where they secured 29.8% of the votes - their highest return.

Widening the political picture to include North Yorkshire, the numbers are less closely run, though there was potentially still a big chunk of traditional Tory voters taking their business elsewhere.

In the North East and North Yorkshire as a whole, Reform won 271,485 votes, while the Conservatives secured a healthier 333,251 votes.

Further south, Reform leader Nigel Farage, who visited Sunderland for a rally only last week, was declared the winner in Clacton.

Reform UK makes gains as Nigel Farage wins Clacton

Speaking after his victory in the early hours, he vowed to fill what he described as a "massive gap" in British politics.

People swarm around Reform UK leader Nigel Farage at a rally in Sunderland last week. Credit: ITV Tyne Tees

He said: “It’s not just disappointment with the Conservative party, there is a massive gap on the centre-right of British politics and my job is to fill it, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

“But it’s not just what we do in Parliament as a national party that matters, it’s what we do out around the country.

“Getting 5,000 people in that room in Birmingham last week, the energy, the optimism, the enthusiasm, the belief that Westminster is just completely out of touch with ordinary people, says to me that my plan is to build a mass national movement over the course of the next few years, and hopefully, it will be big enough to challenge the general election properly in 2029.”

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